Church of St Laurence and Community Centre

Reasons for Designation

St Laurence's Church should be listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * interesting plan comprising octagonal main church and hexagonal Lady Chapel, reflecting the impact of the Liturgical Movement on church architecture in the 1960s; * originally called 'the mod church', the design also has formal qualities such as the way the tall slender spire acts as a foil to the low, broad span of the main church with its polygonal roof; * the interior, which contains stained glass by T Carter Shapland, is richly-textured and the original fittings survive very well.

Details

779/0/10157 BROMLEY ROAD
06-APR-10 CHURCH OF ST LAURENCE AND COMMUNITY CENTRE

II
Parish church, 1967-8, by Covell Matthews Partnership with community centre attached. Minor later alterations.

EXTERIOR: The church comprises three main parts, all interconnected: an octagonal church with corona; a pentagonal Lady Chapel with tall open-work spire; and a community centre with hall, kitchens, coffee room and other spaces for social activities. The church has a reinforced concrete skeleton with red brick infilling. Concrete flying buttresses project from the octagonal body of the church, forming the ribs of the shallow domed roof beneath which segmental slips of clerestory are exposed to each of the eight sides. The corona is in aluminium, stainless steel and gold, as is its visual counterpart, the 56m spire to the Lady Chapel which houses a bell from the Victorian church. The quality of materials is good, and the use of brick, concrete and metals on the outside enhances the compositional strengths of the building: the use of concrete emphasises the flying buttresses, for example, and the different types of metal bring the spire and corona to life. The church is entered via a projecting porch with brick-clad walls, floor-ceiling glazing, and a raised concrete parapet decorated with patterns in a rough-cast concrete. The double doors, which form a large cross when closed together, are the originals.

INTERIOR: the octagonal auditorium is a dramatic space. The textures are rich: the polygonal roof is coffered with triangular panels of fibreglass; the clerestory contains coloured glass in an abstract pattern of blocks of bold, dense colour by T Carter Shapland; the altar cross, by the same artist, is made of fragments of coloured glass; the walls and floors are in light-grey brick. The stained glass window mullions extend across the concrete structural beam below, characteristic of the holistic approach to design here. The sense of geometry is strong, conveyed through the triangular patterns of the ceiling, the circular altar dais and the curved pews, made especially for this church, which radiate in a fan shape from three sides of the altar. Thus, the liturgical advantages of the post-war fashion for worship in the round are exploited without the problem of the celebrant turning his or her back on some members of the congregation. The altar, altar rails, choir stalls, clergy chairs and hymn boards are all original. The organ, by JW Walker and Sons, incorporated pipes from the old church organ. Also salvaged from the old church is a single stained glass window commemorating the service of the local regiment in the First World War. The Lady Chapel contains its original fittings too (including pews and altar) as well as newer work, such as the jacaranda (a hardwood) carving of the martyrdom of St Laurence by the Kenyan Samuel Wanjau which dates to 1975. This is a church that has been comprehensively thought out. Its fittings reflect the high-quality design of the period and survive remarkably unaltered.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: The community centre is in the same materials as the church, but is a straightforward box with flat roof and an attic storey accommodating the taller main hall. Architecturally much plainer than the church itself, it has secondary interest. It does contribute to the special character of the whole, however, as an integral part of the church which was as crucial to its mission as the consecrated space in the 1960s. The hall in particular is an attractive double height space with large windows in two rows along one side, separated by concrete piers.

HISTORY: St Laurence Church replaced a church by HR Gough of 1887 located nearby, the site of which was acquired by Lewisham Council for part of the new civic centre, called Laurence House. The builders were FC Steele and Partners and the church cost over £200,000, covered by compensation from Lewisham Council for the loss of the old church and site. Upon opening in 1968, St Laurence was known as the 'space-age' church and the spire was likened to a satellite. It was also called 'the mod church'.

The church was intended as a community centre as well as a place of worship. The site on Bromley Road was a large one and so a large social centre was constructed at the same time as the church, vicarage and two houses. The Church Times called it 'a parish centre (of a type unheard of this side of the Atlantic)'.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: St Laurence's Church is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* interesting plan comprising octagonal main church and hexagonal Lady Chapel, reflecting the impact of the Liturgical Movement on church architecture in the 1960s;
* originally called 'the mod church', the design also has formal qualities such as the way the tall
slender spire acts as a foil to the low, broad span of the main church with its polygonal roof;
* the interior, which contains stained glass by T Carter Shapland, is richly-textured and the original fittings survive very well.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

506125

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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